Intelligent progression monitoring, tracking, and management of parkinson's disease

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present invention describe mechanisms configured to monitor, track, and manage symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). According to particular exemplary embodiments, a system includes sensors configured to monitor motion exhibited by a user having symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a processor configured to determine whether the motion constitutes a tremor episode, and memory configured to maintain data associated with the tremor episode, a severity rating associated with the tremor episode, and medication intake information. In exemplary embodiments, the effectiveness of a user's medication intake can be determined based on data displayed regarding severity rating variations over time in relation to medication intake.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system comprising:
 a plurality of sensors included in a wearable bracelet device configured to monitor motion exhibited by a user having symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the motion including cyclical motion; 
 a processor connected to the plurality of sensors, the processor configured to:
 determine whether the motion constitutes a tremor episode, wherein determining whether the motion constitutes a tremor episode includes filtering out artifacts data and non-cyclical motion data from the data associated with the tremor episode produced by the plurality of sensors and comparing the detected cyclical motion to characteristic data for Parkinson's disease tremors, and 
 monitor a duration of the tremor episode, wherein the duration is a length of time that is the sum of two time segments, a first time segment corresponding to a first motion having a first frequency and a second time segment corresponding to a second motion having a second frequency, wherein the first motion evolves to a second motion; and 
 
 memory configured to maintain data associated with the tremor episode, a severity rating associated with the tremor episode, clock time of the tremor episode, the duration of the tremor episode, and medication intake information, wherein medication intake information and severity ratings are displayed on the wearable device as a function of time, wherein the characteristic data for Parkinson's disease tremors is updated with the data associated with the tremor episode and stored in the memory for referencing subsequent tremor episodes. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the severity rating for the tremor episode. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the memory is further configured to maintain data associated with severity level variations over time in relation to medication intake such that effectiveness of the medication intake can be determined. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the severity rating is determined based on frequency and amplitude of the motion. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the severity rating is determined based on duration of the tremor episode. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein medication intake information comprises type, time, and dosage information. 
     
     
       7. A method for determining effectiveness of medication intake comprising:
 monitoring motion exhibited by a user having symptoms of Parkinson's disease by using a plurality of sensors included in a wearable bracelet device, the motion including cyclical motion; 
 determining whether the motion constitutes a tremor episode by using a processor connected to the plurality of sensors, wherein determining whether the motion constitutes a tremor episode includes filtering out artifacts data and non-cyclical motion data from data produced by the plurality of sensors and comparing the detected cyclical motion to characteristic data for Parkinson's disease tremors; 
 monitoring a duration of the tremor episode, wherein the duration is a length of time that is the sum of two time segments a first time segment corresponding to a first motion having a first frequency and a second time segment corresponding to a second motion having a second frequency, wherein the first motion evolves to the second motion; 
 maintaining in a memory data associated with the tremor episode, a severity rating associated with the tremor episode, clock time of the tremor episode, the duration of the tremor episode, and medication intake information, wherein medication intake information and severity ratings are displayed on the wearable device as a function of time; and 
 updating the characteristic data for Parkinson's disease tremors with the data associated with the tremor episode in the memory for referencing subsequent tremor episodes. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the severity rating for the tremor episode. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the severity rating is determined based on frequency and amplitude of the motion. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the severity rating is determined based on duration of the tremor episode. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 7 , wherein medication intake information comprises type, time, and dosage information. 
     
     
       12. An apparatus for measuring effectiveness of medication intake comprising:
 means for monitoring motion exhibited by a user having symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the motion including cyclical motion; 
 means for determining whether the motion constitutes a tremor episode, wherein determining whether the motion constitutes a tremor episode includes filtering out artifacts data and non-cyclical motion data from sensor data produced by a plurality of sensors and comparing the detected cyclical motion to characteristic data for Parkinson's disease tremors; 
 means for monitoring a duration of the tremor episode, wherein the duration is a length of time that is the sum of two time segments, a first time segment corresponding to a first motion having a first frequency and a second time segment corresponding to a second motion having a second frequency, wherein the first motion evolves to the second motion; 
 means for maintaining data associated with the tremor episode, a severity rating associated with the tremor episode, clock time of the tremor episode, the duration of the tremor episode, and medication intake information, wherein medication intake information and severity ratings are displayed on a wearable device as a function of time; and 
 means for updating the characteristic data for Parkinson's disease tremors with the data associated with the tremor episode in memory for referencing subsequent tremor episodes. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein a severity rating for the tremor episode is determined. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the severity rating is determined based on frequency and amplitude of the motion.